July 21, 2025

Before we dive in, I've been flummoxed trying to fix some formatting issues that seem to affect a small number of readers — but very persistently!

If you are having trouble reading this, can you reply and let me know what device you're using (iPhone, Android, laptop, etc?) and what email service (Gmail on the web, Mail for Apple, etc?) Thank you!!!

Also, we're trying something a bit different this week. You'll see when you get to the "7 things" at the bottom.

— President Richard Nixon, USS Hornet, July 24, 1969

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"... and returning him safely to Earth"

It is one thing to set a goal that defies the imagination. It is another thing entirely to make a promise.

In May 1961, President John F. Kennedy stood before Congress and declared that the United States should commit to sending a man to the moon "before this decade is out."

But he added something else—something sometimes forgotten amid the black-and-white footage and famous sound bites: "...and returning him safely to the Earth."

It wasn't just a bold ambition. It was a commitment this would not be a suicide mission. It wasn't just about planting a flag, but about proving that science, engineering, courage—and yes, democracy—could overcome gravity itself.

Eight years later, the astronauts of Apollo 11—Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin (and watching over them, Michael Collins)—became the living fulfillment of that promise.

Everyone remembers the descent (even if like me, you weren't yet alive): the dusty shuffle of boots on lunar soil, the voice crackling over millions of televisions and radios.

But what came next was just as harrowing, and just as historic.

In fact, the landing itself nearly jeopardized the mission's success.

During the final moments of descent, Neil Armstrong took manual control of the Lunar Module Eagle to avoid a field of boulders and craters. This steering effort burned precious fuel; Armstrong touched down with only about 15 seconds left—far less margin than planned.

They landed roughly four miles off the intended site, in a spot that was uneven and tilted. One of the module's legs rested in a shallow depression, causing the spacecraft to lean slightly.

This wasn't just a minor inconvenience. The Lunar Module's ascent engine, which would later carry Armstrong and Aldrin back into lunar orbit, had never been tested in space. If the tilt had been too severe, the engine might not have ignited properly, or the module could have toppled on liftoff, stranding them on the moon forever.

Armstrong and Aldrin had no way to fix the terrain, no chance to reposition the craft. They had to trust that the hardware and their training would hold.

After 21 hours on the lunar surface, with the risk ever-present in the background, Armstrong and Aldrin fired the ascent engine and rose into lunar orbit to reunite with Michael Collins in the command module Columbia.

Then came the long journey home, 240,000 miles across the void, carefully navigating a narrow corridor of Earth's atmosphere during reentry—a final razor-thin gamble on technology and human skill.

On July 24, 1969, the command module broke through the sky over the Pacific Ocean. Three parachutes bloomed, and Columbia splashed down safely near the USS Hornet.

Here's something I never realized until researching this today: President Richard Nixon was actually aboard the recovery ship, awaiting their return.

Speaking to Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins through a quarantine window, the president said: "This is the greatest week in the history of the world since the Creation ... For one priceless moment in the whole history of man, all the people on this Earth are truly one."

The moon landing was watched by over 600 million people—nearly a sixth of humanity at the time. It was not a conquest but a unifying leap for mankind.

From Kennedy's promise to return men safely, to Armstrong's last seconds of fuel, to the tilt of the Eagle on the moon's surface, to the splashdown in the Pacific—this mission was a triumph of hope, precision, and the power of keeping promises.

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7 other things to know this week ...

Quick note: I'm trying something different. Since Big Optimism is a weekly email (don't forget to go to Understandably.com if you're not getting my daily newsletter), instead of sharing news from the world as I often do, I thought I'd challenge myself to find similar optimistic notes from history for each day of this week.

Let me know what you think of this format, by using the 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1-star feedback links below!

• Sunday July 20: “These athletes show what’s possible when kindness leads.” — Eunice Kennedy Shriver, launching the first Special Olympics July 20, 1968, in Chicago, Illinois, at Soldier Field. Approximately 1,000 athletes with disabilities from the United States and Canada participated in events like swimming, track and field, and floor hockey.
• Monday July 21: “I will serve my country with steadfast heart.” — Sirimavo Bandaranaike, on becoming prime minister of Ceylon, July 21, 1960, making her the world’s first female head of government.
• Tuesday July 22: "Hello Mae. I'm pretty tired." - Wiley Post, to his wife, upon landing at Floyd Bennett Field on this date in 1933, and thus becoming the first person to fly around the world alone. Fifty thousand people greeted him on his return after 7 days, 18 hours, and 49 minutes of travel.
• Wednesday July 23: Kerri Strug, after her heroic vault on an injured ankle clinched the first-ever Olympic team gold for U.S. women's gymnastics on this date in 1996.
• Thursday July 24: "You’re a lawyer of Capitalism, I’m a lawyer for Communism. Let’s kiss." Nikita Khrushchev, joking with Richard Nixon at the end of the impromptu "Kitchen Debate," at the American National Exhibition at Sokolniki Park in Moscow on July 24, 1959.
• Friday July 25: "I felt all the magnitude of the invention pronounced to be practicable beyond cavil or dispute." — Charles Wheatstone, expressed the significance of the electric telegraph invention after successfully sending and receiving a message on July 25, 1837, using a roughly 1.5 mile experimental line along railway tracks in north London.
• Saturday July 26: "Lost time is never found again." —Benjamin Franklin, in an aphorism attributed to him multiple times while discussing improvements to the U.S. Postal System; he was named first Postmaster General on this date in 1775.